URL Encoder/Decoder

What is URL Encoding?

URL encoding, also known as percent-encoding, is a mechanism for encoding information in a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) under certain circumstances. It converts characters that are not allowed in URLs into a format that can be transmitted over the Internet, ensuring the URL remains valid and safe.

In URL encoding, characters are replaced with a "%" followed by two hexadecimal digits representing the ASCII code of the character. For example, a space character would be encoded as "%20".

How URL Encoding Works

The URL encoding process follows these basic rules:

• Alphanumeric characters (A-Z, a-z, 0-9) remain unchanged
• Special characters like ".", "-", "_", and "~" remain unchanged
• Spaces can be encoded as "%20" or "+" (in query parameters)
• All other characters are converted to their hexadecimal ASCII value, preceded by a percent sign

Different parts of a URL have different encoding requirements. For example, a space in the path of a URL must be encoded as "%20", but in a query parameter, it can also be represented as a plus sign "+".

Key Features of Our URL Encoder/Decoder

• Multiple encoding methods (full URI, component-wise, spaces only)
• Handles both encoding and decoding operations
• Real-time feedback and error handling
• Component-wise encoding that intelligently processes different URL parts
• Client-side processing (your data never leaves your browser)

Encoding Types Explained

• Full URI (encodeURIComponent): This method encodes all characters except alphanumerics and - _ . ! ~ * ' ( ). Use this when encoding a complete URL or any URL component where safety is a concern.

  Example: "Hello World?" → "Hello%20World%3F"

• Component-wise: This approach intelligently encodes only parts of the URL that need encoding, preserving the URL structure. It's useful for properly forming URLs with special characters in specific components.

  Example: "https://example.com/path with spaces?q=a&b=c" → "https://example.com/path%20with%20spaces?q=a&b=c"

• Spaces only: This simple method only converts spaces to "%20", leaving all other characters unchanged. Use it when you only need to handle spaces in text.

  Example: "Hello World" → "Hello%20World"

Common Use Cases

• Creating valid URLs with non-ASCII characters or spaces
• Properly formatting query parameters in API requests
• Handling user input in web forms
• Creating links that contain special characters
• Preventing injection attacks by encoding user-supplied data
• Debugging URL-related issues in web applications
• Safely transmitting data in HTTP requests